Valerie A. Fontaine earned her JD from UC Law San Francisco (formerly UC Hastings) and her BA, Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude, from UCLA. She was on the Editorial Board of COMM/ENT, a Journal of Communications and Entertainment Law. Valerie practiced law with a prominent Los Angeles law firm and entered the legal search profession in 1981. Valerie is past Secretary to the Board of Directors of the National Association of Legal Search Consultants (NALSC) and former Chair of its Newsletter Committee. She currently serves as a consultant to NALSC headquarters.
Now that you are not working night and day to keep up with the business crossing your desk, what should you be doing to make the most of these slow times? Besides catching up on your sleep and getting reacquainted with family and friends, there are specific steps you can take to position yourself to…
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During the course of your career, you may contemplate switching practice areas-either by choice or necessity. Some attorneys discover that the area of practice they chose, or fell into, after law school, is not right for them. Others find that the economy or political or technological developments necessitate a practice change. The ease or difficulty…
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Performance reviews needn’t be an ordeal; rather, with the proper preparation and attitude, they can be an opportunity for mapping out your path to career success. Virtually all attorneys from junior associate to senior partner have some sort of evaluation, even if it is only part of the annual compensation-setting process. With the tight economy…
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Attorneys often start law school with the goal of changing the world. Later, a heavy load of student loans and the need to practice with an eye on the bottom line disabuse many lawyers of those idealistic notions. You can, however, have both a successful legal career and work for the cause. Whether you volunteer…
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